Koob Vang was an inspiration to his Hmong community in Stockton, and now we can only think about what this brilliant young man might have accomplished if it were not for a fatal accident on the road due to street racing.

He achieved his doctorate at the age of 25 at the Pacific’s Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy.  By at the age of 27, he was elected the youngest president of the California Society of Health System Pharmacists, Central Valley Chapter.

All of this came to a crashing halt — at the age of 28 — in a fatal car accident on Saturday, January 31, 2009 when he was the passenger of a Honda Civic that veered off Highway 99 and slammed into a tree in an apparent street racing episode, according to California Highway Patrol.

Our wrongful death attorneys have some experience with cases such as these, so they know that it is because of the high speeds at the time of the auto accident, car was sliced in half when it slammed sideways into an oak tree.  The rear passenger area took the brunt of the crash and that is where Vang was sitting.

The driver, 18-year-old Jia Chen of Stockton, faces charges of vehicular manslaughter.  Police say that she was not drinking behind the wheel and that no drugs were involved, so she was not charged with a DUI accident.

CHP says the car may have been street racing with a white Honda CRX around 9:30 p.m.  Another passenger, 19-year-old Christine Sun, experienced pain and suffering from her injuries while riding up front in passenger seat, but Chen walked away from the auto accident.

Authorities are currently looking for the other car driver, from the white Honda, which was street racing with Chen.  In addition to speed racing, this car driver could also be looking at a high-and-run car accident violation.

Vang’s dedication to family (he lived at home and supported his parents, who had retired), his profession and his heritage made him popular figure among his town’s Hmong community.  Notably, he was an interpreter for members of the community, helping to the bridge their language barrier with medical care providers.

“Koob had this ability to spread his time and make sure he helped everybody he could, especially if they had questions about medication or health,” said May Vang, his 33-year-old sister. “Even when he was in school, he would spend time helping people, watch TV, then study late into the night.  The next day, he’d ace his test and act like it was nothing.”

He was “an overachiever who seemed like he could do anything,” said his brother, 30-year old Yee Vang, who described auto accident’s aftermath as a bad dream.

The experienced wrongful death attorneys are always saddened when valued members of the community can be killed in an instant if a car driver does not take the proper care and precaution while on the road.  Life is fragile, and car accidents can be very deadly.  That is why we always insist others drive safely with the public in mind.

Life came easy to Vang, and he gave it all back to his family and community.  Fatal car accidents do not discriminate, and anyone can be killed in a wrongful death car accident.

Call us now at 1-800-655-6585 or click here for a free consultation with an experienced car accident attorney and find out how we can help you.  We speak English and Spanish, and we look forward to providing advice for your case.  No fee if no recovery

About Michael Pines

Michael Pines is a former insurance company attorney who specializes in car accident injury. While he was an insurance attorney, he learned from behind the scenes on how insurance companies work and how they decided to pay injured people. Now that he works against insurance companies, Michael's inside knowledge has resulted in significant benefits to his clients injured in car accidents.

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